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Friday, January 10, 2014

Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #318

Written by: Dave MichelinieArt by: Todd McFarlane

Finally, that Venom ordeal is over. He was left basically dying on a beach and now Spidey's got a stinger of a match ahead of him. Whoo I crack myself up. This issue opens up with the Scorpion in some kind of training facility and he's got a brand new set of duds. He's got some new upgrades on his stinger and his tail can now bend and attach to things. We now learn that none other than Justin Hammer has funded this new get up for Scorpion and it's in exchange for a job, of course. Scorpion is to kidnap General Musgrave and bring him to Hammer. Scorpion leaves the facility on a helicopter and Hammer is left with an assistant to ponder this new business move. Meanwhile, a young recently homeless couple are found checking out apartments in New York City. After yet another strike out at a run down apartment, Mary Jane Watson-Parker has to run off to a job, leaving her husband to go off and do some webby work of his own. Unfortunately for him, the city is pretty boring today. A mugging here, purse snatching there. Nothing really spectacular today. And of course, to no ones surprise, Jonah doesn't want to buy any of it. Even stranger, he's been acting weirder and meaner than normal. An editors note tells us that in some other Spidey titles, Jonah's been replaced by the dreaded Chameleon!On the other side of the city, Mary Jane is waiting for her gig to start only to be told that her job was cancelled today. So she decides to let loose with something she hasn't done in a while, go clubbing! She finally comes home and her and Peter have an argument. They're both just wound up about the things going on around them, no ones really mad. And on a side note, can I just say bless Todd McFarlane for the outfits he puts MJ in sometimes. DAYUM! Meanwhile, on another side of the city a creepy sneaky Osborn child creeps back into an old apartment to find some of his Goblin attire awaiting him.A new day begins as Peter Parker makes his way onto the campus of Empire State University. A fellow student lets him know about a rally they're having nearby and he decides it would be a great opportunity to take some shots that maybe Jonah would buy! He arrives and suits up as Spider-Man but little does he know, his sharp tailed green foe is suiting up in the same exact way! Spidey finds a perfect spot to snap some pictures but notices other reporters there, Joy Mercado and Lance Bannon. Jonah's even buying all those shots and not Peter's! There's no time to worry about that though, because in crashing through comes the Scorpion! Spider-Man must act quickly but he can't subdue Scorpion. Apparently a lot of those upgrades really came in handy. So now, all Spider-Man's doing is putting on a show for all these other reporters! Thinking fast, Spidey tosses Scorpion through a wall into another room and the fight continues there. In a blink of an eye, Scorpion grabs the General and blasts a wall with a beam from his tail. Spider-Man barely catches it and struggles to keep it up while the innocent people run out. Bannon makes the mistake of saying out loud how Jonah is gonna love these shots and that sets Scorpion over the edge. He takes a new approach to keeping the General hostage. He now will only let the General go if he gets Jonah in return. But Jonah is the Chameleon! Either way, in 60 minutes from now someone dies!This was an intense issue that took a while to pick up, but oddly enough didn't feel like it did. It was hard to stop reading it this time around, maybe that's because I haven't opened this book in a while. Regardless, it was a great read. Another stand up issue by the creative team of the decade! Be back in a week to see what happens with the poor General and how Spidey will handle this new hostage situation!Matt Milanes